[Recent fractures of the odontoid. Prognostic factors]

A review of 92 recent fractures of the odontoid process suggests that they can be divided into two groups: stable fractures requiring no more than orthopedic treatment, and unstable fractures requiring surgery. Basing themselves on four main prognostic factors (direction and level of the fracture, distance between the fragments and age of the patients), the authors propose three types of surgical treatment differing in complexity and functional results: posterior C1-C2 arthrodesis, simple lacing with nylon threads and, quite recently, direct screwing by the antero-lateral approach.